The Unexpected
by ShadowRain313
Summary: After a painful summer, Harry and his new 'companion' are off to his final year at Hogwarts. But new surprises are in store for Harry as Voldemort has taken a... different intrest in Harry than before. HarryVoldemort. Disregards HBP.
1. Chapter 1

**ShadowRain313: **Hey everyone. This is my first Harry Potter fan fic. I hope you like it. The pairing will be Harry/Voldemort. If you have any ideas to improve my story, suggestions are welcome. I also would like some flames. You know, any way to help my writing. I know it really annoys me when someone has awful grammar and sentence structure. So, without further delay, let the story begin.

"talking"

'thoughts'

"_Parsletoungue"_

**Chapter 1:**

The summer heat was unbearable this time of year in Surrey. Windows were flung open in an attempt to catch a non-existent breeze, fans were turned on to full blast in hope to cool down the recipients, but that only succeeded in stirring up the hot air, and there was no one at all wandering the streets in the hot sun. Well all except one.

Harry Potter was out in the backyard weeding the already perfect flower beds of his Aunt Petunia's magnolia and begonia beds. Sweat trickled down his forehead and ran down his back and into his eyes, and whenever he lifted a hand to wipe away the perspiration from his brow, leaving a streak of dirt in its reddening wake, more would soon follow after. His hands were raw from working without proper gloves and his fingernails were cracking and would probably be bleeding be the end of the day.

He had already weeded the garden three days ago but his Uncle Vernon was in an even more foul mood the he had ever been in before. His company was in the mists of a hostile takeover and workers were being laid off left and right. It was only a matter of time before Vernon lost his job. And naturally it would be Harry's fault. So here he was, trying to stay out of the way and to not give his Uncle even more of an opportunity to find something to beat him over. Yes beat. It had started about two summers ago, and it would happen for even the smallest thing. So now, Harry avoided his Uncle like the plague. Sadly, it didn't really help.

To top it off, Harry was depressed due to the fact that none of his friends had written to him since the first week of summer. Dumbledore thought that it wouldn't be safe to receive any owl mail. Therefore Harry was cut off from the magical world entirely. And Vernon took complete advantage of it.

Harry heaved a great big sigh and paused in his gardening to flop back into the grass and stare up at the sky. He swallowed in an attempt to alleviate the dryness in his throat but his results were fruitless.

'I hate my life. Why does everything happen to me?' Harry grumbled to himself. 'I haven't heard anything for the last four weeks and it doesn't look like I will anytime soon. The television and newspaper can only help so much' His eyes drifted over the cloudless sky in frustration. 'Why me?'

"BOY!!! NO SLACKING!! GET BACK TO WORK!!!" Vernon yelled from the window. His overly large purple face was splashed with a unhealthy shade of red from the sun. Even from his place on the perfectly manicured lawn, Harry could see the vein in his Uncle's neck bulging.

"Yes Uncle Vernon!" Harry called back as he rose to his knees and began to work on the weeding again. His back cracked as he hunched over the flowers and skillfully continued to pull the weeds from there place.

"WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED WITH THAT, THE ROSES NEED PRUNING AND PETUNIA BOUGHT SOME NEW FLOWERS FOR YOU TO PLANT!! WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THAT GET IN HERE AND GET YOUR LIST OF OTHER CHORES TO FINISH!!! YOU UNDERSTAND BOY?!!?1

"Yes Uncle Vernon!" Harry sighed and mentally counted down the days to his birthday. Seventeen was the big year. He would be able to use magic and he would be considered an adult. As soon as the clock struck midnight on his birthday he was out of here. He didn't care if Dumbledore wanted him to stay here until school started, he couldn't handle another week here with his family and his Uncle's violent temper.

"_Humanssss are ssso loudsss." _A voice hissed from the bushes a little to the right of where Harry was working. He paused and looked at the bushes but could not see anyone or anything there. He shook his head and continued his work but he kept glancing over at the bush. After a couple more minutes, a garder snake slithered out and watched Harry. Harry stopped working again and sat up while looking at the small snake.

"_Isss the human ssscared? Isss he going to ssscream?"_

Harry gave a small laugh and shook his head before starting to work again.

"_No. I am not ssscared." _ Harry replied to the little snake who recoiled in, what Harry guessed, shock.

"_You sssspeak the ssserpents tongue?" _ The snake flicked its forked tongue out, testing the air to see if Harry posed any sort of threat to it.

"_Yess. I know itsss a very rare gift." _Harry hissed back. The snake slithered out further from under the bush and cautiously approached Harry, who glanced down at it and gave a small smile.

The snake was probably about a foot long when completely stretched out and it was about as thick as a pencil. The top of its scales was a dark green and shifted to brown on it under scales. Its eyes were a bright amber color. It was a beautiful little snake.

"_You are very pretty." _Harry told it. The creature flicked his tongue out again and came closer.

"_Flattery will getsss you everywhere."_ Harry gave a small laugh at this. _"What isss you name sssnake ssspeaker?"_

"_Harry Potter. And what isss you name?"_

"_We do not have namesss like humansss do." _

Harry glanced back down at it again. It had coiled up and was resting its head on its body while his eyes were still observing Harry.

"_How may I addressss you then?" _He asked it curiously. It lifted its head up off of its body.

"_You may give me a name if you mussst."_

Harry began to ponder some names for a minute. He stopped working and crossed his arms.

"_Hmm… how about- no, that doesssn't sssound like a sssnake name. Or how- no not that either. Or-"_

"_Jussst pick one."_

"_Ok ok. How about Lazzarus?"_

The snake seemed to be thinking it over for a minute.

"_Itsss a alright name but maybe ssssomething a little easssier."_

"_How about……… Sssin?"_

"_Ssssin… I like it."_

Harry smiled at Sin. He looked back at the flower beds and realized that there were no more weeds to pick. He sighed again and looked at his hands that were slightly raw from working all day. He didn't think that he would ever be able to get the dirt out from under his nails.

"_Why do you work ssso much if your hurt?"_

"_I don't have a choice. If I don't work then I will get beaten again."_

Sin recoiled really fast and made a hiss if disgust.

_  
"Your father beatsss hisss children? Disssgusting!"_

"_He isss not my father, he isss my Uncle. My father iss dead. I will only be here for a few more weeksss. When I turn ssseventeen I am leaving here forever."_

"_You will leave? May I come with you?"_

Harry sat down crossed legged and stared at Sin in confusion.

"_Yo-You would want to come with me? Why?"_

"_There iss nothing here. If I ssstay then that horssse woman will jussst run me out of here. Besssidesss, I have never met a sssnake ssspeaker before. Ssso can I come?" _Sin questioned.

"_Yess, I would like that. Thank you, Sssin." _Harry smiled down at Sin. He felt better than he had this entire summer. He stood up to go and grab the shears to begin the rose pruning. He then bent over and extended a hand for Sin.

"_Letsss go Sssin. I have more work to do."_

Sin crawled up into Harry's hand and wrapped himself around Harry's fingers and wrist. Sin was his companion all day. And Harry had never felt so at ease while working before.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Harry flopped down on his bed in exhaustion. It had been a couple weeks since Sin had joined Harry and he wasn't as lonely as he used to be. Sin was a companion who was trustworthy and to whom Harry could reveal his feelings to. Harry told Sin everything about his life and the great thing about Sin is that he wasn't judgmental and he didn't let any personal emotions get in the way of the advice he gave.

"_I am ssso tired!" _Harry hissed out. The Dursley's have been working Harry to death. Even if he finished all of his chores early they would make him do something even if it didn't need to be done. Luckily, his Uncle hasn't been in a bad mood and so Harry has been able to let his wounds heal up. Although, he wasn't going to get out of it unscathed. There were a few wounds that would definitely scar.

"_How much longer until we can leave thisss place?" _Sin asked while sliding out of Harry's shirt.

" _Jusst another couple of daysss and then w-"_

"BOY!!!" His Uncle yelled from downstairs. The walls seemed to vibrate as Vernon's voice resonated from below. His yell was accompanied by loud thuds as Vernon marched up the stairs.

"Shit!" Harry cursed, springing up from his bed and scooping Sin up in his hands. He ran over to his wardrobe and pulled it open while placing Sin down at the bottom on top of some shirts. _"Ssstay here! Don't come out unlessss I tell you to!"_ Harry frantically hissed to Sin before slamming the wardrobe door closed just as his Uncle threw the door to his room open.

"BOY!!! ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" Vernon yelled in anger. Harry took a step backwards from his Uncle in fear but Vernon just advanced towards Harry with a few short strides and then he reached out and grabbed Harry's throat with a large beefy hand.

Harry's hands reached up to grasp his Uncle's wrist and tried to pull the Walrus like hand away from his throat but his actions were fruitless. Vernon's other massive hand swung around and collided with his stomach. Harry let out a quiet gasp of pain from the impact and all of the air was expelled from his lungs but he couldn't let any air back in due to the hand around his throat.

Black spots danced in Harry's vision and his head began to fell all light headed. His struggling was getting weaker and it was getting harder to think coherently. Just when he thought that he couldn't last another second, Vernon released his grip and Harry dropped to his knees on the floor, clutching his stomach and gasping for air. He hunched his body forward to where his head was almost touching the ground, looking like he was bowing on his knees, and tried to fill his lungs with much needed oxygen. His stomach contracted painfully and wouldn't stop. Just when Harry was getting his breathing at a somewhat controlled rate, his Uncle's foot lashed out unexpectedly, colliding with Harry's shoulder and knocking him backwards onto his back.

"I SHOULD HAVE DONE AWAY WITH YOU YEARS AGO!!!" Vernon hollered, his foot lashing out once more into Harry's thigh this time. Jolts of pain ran through out the left side of his body from the impact. This move was repeated several more times, drawing a scream from Harry, whose bone felt as though it was going to break. "I GOT FIRED BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU LITTLE FREAK!!!!"

Vernon bent down and grasped the front of Harry's shirt with two hands before lifting him and launching him at the wall. Harry's lithe form hit the wall with a loud thud and he threw out a hand to grasp the edge of the desk next to him but ended up knocking over the lamp and sending in to the hard floor where it shattered into little fragments. His frightened eyes immediately looked to his Uncle's face and cringed at the rage he saw burning in those beady eyes. His leg shook in an effort to hold himself up but the other man relieved Harry of this job as his hand was flung out and smacked into the side of his head knocking him to floor after his hip smashed painfully into the desk. Tears gathered in his eyes but he refused to give his Uncle the pleasure of seeing him cry.

He lay crumpled on his side, trembling in pain. His Uncle kicked him in the same shoulder again, knocking him onto his back. Harry stared at the figure towering over him in fear. Vernon then sank to the floor, straddling Harry's body, and pulled Harry's upper body up by his shirt, a move to which his stomach clenched painfully from, until Harry was face to face with his Uncle.

The smell of cheap booze wafted out from his Uncle's mouth making Harry cringe in disgust. A move which he later regretted as his Uncle saw his look of disgust, to which only infuriated more.

"I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD DIED THAT NIGHT!!! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!" Vernon yelled before throwing him back down, causing his head to slam rather hard and making Harry see stars. Before Harry could even make a move, his Uncle was there, wildly swinging his fists into Harry's torso in a brutal assault.

Harry began desperately trying to fight his Uncle off, a fruitless attempt, but his struggling did allow him to get a chance to drag small gulps of air into his starving lungs. He didn't even have enough breath to scream or talk. Wave after wave of pain coursed through his battered body until Harry couldn't tell what hurt and what didn't. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he kept wishing that the pain would end.

After a couple more minutes of torture, the assault stopped. The room was quiet, save for the sound of heavy breathing and painful gasping. Then Harry's back arched off the ground as his muscles began to fiercely contract and his frame was wracked with coughing as it tried to expel the fluid that built up in is lungs. He was vaguely aware of the coppery taste filling his mouth and running down the side of his mouth and chin. When his body finished hacking up the blood, he collapsed, exhausted on the floor. He raised his eyes to look at his Uncle through lowered lashes.

Vernon's body was trembling as he looked at his nephew laying broken and battered beneath him. His eyes stared fixedly on the blood dribbling down the side of Harry's face. One would almost think that the expression upon his face was horror or fear but it was in fact delight. The way those beady eyes shinnied in pleasure at the work he had done scared Harry more than anything.

Harry whimpered in pain and fear. He was to scared to move and bring his Uncle's wrath upon himself again, but he couldn't stop the sound from escaping. Vernon's look vanished instantly and his rage returned.

"Don't think that I am done with you yet Boy." Vernon whispered ominously. Harry's body unconsciously shivered at the tone of voice that promised pain.

Harry closed his eyes again and tried to will his mind away, anywhere, as long as it wasn't here. He didn't want to see the look on his Uncle's face as he did what he did, he didn't want to feel the pain being inflicted upon him, he didn't… he didn't even want to live anymore. The pain was worse than any he had ever felt. Even the Crutiatus curse didn't feel like this. It was a new pain entirely. And it was much worse in Harry's opinion.

'What did I do to deserve this? Why me? Why?'

The sound of ripping fabric was heard in the dismal room as Vernon shredded the baggy shirt that covered the broken body. Then skin on Harry's unclothed torso was already a sickly yellow color and would most likely be a dark shade of purple in a few hours. Vernon's eyes darted around the area near him and landed on one of Harry's sharp, metal tipped quills that he had received as a birthday gift from the Weasleys last year. He reached out and dragged it to him and before Harry's confused mind could process what was going on, the tip on his quill was dug into his chest and drugged down, carving letters onto his chest. Harry's pain filled scream rang out and his struggles became anew.

"SHUT UP!!!" Vernon yelled before swinging the hand with the quill at Harry's face. The quill effortlessly sliced open Harry's left cheek in one smooth motion. Blood flowed from the cut and Harry bit his lip to keep from screaming. "Don't say a word." Vernon hissed dangerously into his ear, before resuming his work on Harry's chest.

Harry clenched his eyes shut and tears trailed out of the corner of his eyes in pain. He bit the inside of his uninjured cheek to keep from screaming in pain. A pain filled sob escaped his lips as his Uncle continued to work, dragging the quill across his pale flesh. He could feel blood trickling down his side and tried to hold another sob in. He could no longer feel the pain of individual wounds. It was just one large, unbearable pain in time with his heart beat.

He was vaguely aware of the weight being lifted off of his hips as his uncle stood up, and stared down at Harry, admiring his work. Harry could hear the loud foot steps pass by his head as his Uncle stumbled unsteadily from the room before there was a loud 'slam' as Vernon closed the door and locked all of the locks.

With his Uncle gone, Harry allowed the dam to break and the tears to flow freely. He managed to turn on his side and curl his body up into a ball as he sobbed from all of the pain, both physically and mentally. A cold wind blew over his form from the open window causing Harry to shiver, but he just couldn't find any strength in his body to get up and close the window.

So he lied there, shivering and sobbing, until he had no more tears left to cry and his mind began to shut down on him. He could vaguely hear Sin frantically hissing to let him out before Harry closed his eyes and drifted into a pain filled sleep.

"_Harry! Harry!"_

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

**ShadowRain313**: So what do you think? Any good so far? This is my first fic so I would really like to know what you think. Please review. I am going to try and update as often as I can. If you have any questions ask them too! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**ShadowRain313:** Ok, so here is the next chapter. I am pretty proud at how fast that I got you were it typed up. But then again, it is summer and I have nothing else to do. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

"talking"

'thoughts'

"_parsletounge"_

**Chapter 2:**

Pain. That was all he felt. It consumed his thoughts and prevented him from thinking of anything but that. But pain was goodPain meant that you were alive. Which, depending on who you asked, could be either good or bad. Right now, it was bad.

Harry groggily awoke from his slumber, unable to ignore the throbbing from every bruise, every cut, and maybe a couple of fractured bones. From the pain in his chest, Harry didn't doubt that maybe he had a broken rib or two.

He lay there, trying to disregard the pain, and began to mentally asses the damage that he had taken. Starting with his head. He thought that maybe he had a concussion, given the pounding in his head, which if he did, then he was lucky that even woke up at all. His hair was matted to his head from the blood that had gushed out when he hit his head. That particular wound didn't hurt too much, well, compared to the other wounds he had, but he knew from experience that head wounds tended to bleed more, no matter how small the cut. His cheek was burning from the quill slicing it open. Moving his jaw made it hurt unnecessarily, so he tried to keep that movement to a minimum. His eye hurt like a bitch too. Even though his glasses were absent, and he couldn't see very well, Harry could tell his eye was swollen pretty well.

Moving on to the worst of the damage, Harry knew without even looking, his chest looked like shit. Trying to sort through the pain in his abdomen and single out the individual injuries proved to be a difficult task. The pain in his head made it hard to think, nevertheless, he continued. Skipping over the obvious bruises and 'cuts' he began to try and asses the more serious, and possibly internal, injuries. He was pretty sure that he had a cracked rib or two now, and maybe some damage to some organ or something as he didn't really know the exact location of every major organ. But he did know where his lungs are, and from the trouble that he had breathing and the dried blood on the side of his mouth that he had coughed up the night before, Harry could only guess that maybe he had a collapsed lung or a punctured one. He didn't really know, but something was wrong with them. He luckily knew though that if something was wrong with one lung, it wouldn't be enough to kill him as long as the other one performed at maximum. Moving on to his shoulder, it was either broken or dislocated, but Harry didn't feel like moving and finding out just yet.

His arms were in pretty good condition. Just a few scattered bruises from trying to defend himself from the barrage of fists that had been raining down on him. His wrist might be sprained or something though.

His hip was probably in the best condition, considering his Uncle had sat on it. It did throb from where it had collided with the desk though.

Lastly, or from what he could feel, was his left thigh from where his Uncle had repeatedly kicked. It didn't feel broken because if it was, he was sure that his whole leg would hurt, not just that area. It was most likely just extensive muscle damage and swelling. Maybe a popped blood vessel here or there. Over all, Harry guessed that he got out of it better than he expected.

You would probably think he was insane for thinking that, but considering that he thought he was going to die, he got off easy.

Harry knew that he needed to get help. He would usually be able to treat is own injuries and no one would know, but this had been, by far, the most brutal beating yet. He didn't know if he would be able to survive another one. He had a day at most, he guessed. His Uncle would be nursing that hangover that he would surely have and then he would ponder over what he had done to Harry for awhile and then he would act.

But first things first. Harry needed to move. Sitting up straight was not an option. His ribs would protest vehemently and he didn't think that his abdominal muscles could handle the strain right now. So instead, he rolled back over onto his side, wincing a little at the pain, and then onto his stomach. Pain flared instantly, and he used his arms to lift himself slightly off of the floor and relive the pressure on his torso. Using his arms and his good leg, Harry began to pull himself toward his bed, or more specifically, the lose floor board beneath it. His arms shook with the effort, but he kept on pulling himself. He managed to pull himself half way there before he flopped down on his stomach and quickly rolled back onto his side when his ribs jarred painfully against his front.

He lay there panting on the floor for a few minutes, waiting for the pain to subside before continuing on again. After a couple minutes of dragging his bruised body across the floor, he reached his bed and slowly crawled under, lifting the loose floor board and removing a piece of parchment. Before he put all of the stuff back into his hiding place, he noticed a small vial of Pain Removing Solution wrapped up in his father's invisibility cloak. He remembered having snuck a couple of vials when he was last in the hospital wing, in anticipation of the long, painful summer. He had thought he used the last of it up.

There was a little less than half left in the vial, but it was enough to at least ease the pain to where he could think better and send a letter off. He quickly downed the lavender potion and immediately felt it take effect. It did not remove all of the pain, but it toned it down to a bearable level. Mindful of his wounds, he pulled the parchment out and crawled out from under the bed.

Carefully pulling himself to his feet, he hobbled on over to his desk and slowly sat down. His ribs shifted and he felt a sharp stab of pain. Without the little bit of potion he had consumed, he knew that he would be gasping for air and immobilized by the pain. As it was though, he could handle it. Pulling out a spare quill from one of the desk drawers (one that wasn't metal tipped), and then quickly uncapping his bottle of ink, he wrote a simple message.

**Need Help! Injured! Please Hurry!**

**Harry**

It was short, but that was all he could manage. It seemed that there was less potion than he thought for he could already feel an increase in pain. He quickly folded the note and stumbled over to Hedwig. He opened her cage and attached the note her leg.

"Hedwig, take this to Grimmauld Place as fast as you can. Give it to the first person in the Order that you see. Please hurry. I don't think I can handle another smack down like this last one. Now go!" Harry hurriedly whispered to her. She gave a quick peck of affection to Harry's ear before she took off into the sky.

He stared at her form until it disappeared on the horizon. It was then that he noticed his leg trembling very badly a he just knew that he would regret moving, standing or even breathing when the Pain Killing Solution wore off. He could only pray that Hedwig would be swift and the Order was quick to respond.

"_Harry? Harry? Open up Pleasssse!" _ Sin's voice sounded out through the wardrobe door.

Harry immediately felt ashamed for having forgotten about his little companion, even for a second. On trembling legs he managed to take three steps before his left leg gave out and he crashed to floor. Wincing at the loud thud, fear filled him as he waited for his Uncle's angry shout. Relieved when he didn't hear anything ('Probably still asleep') he pulled himself over to the wardrobe and pulled it open enough for Sin to come out.

Sin slithered out as fast as he could and headed straight to Harry, who lay crumpled on the floor.

"_Harry! Are you alright? I heard you sssscrea- Oh god!"_

"_Do I look that bad?"_

"_Itssss awful! I wisssh I wasss bigger than I could protect you!"_

Harry gave a small, sad smile at this. It seemed as is he always needed to be protected. Some savior that he was supposed to be. He couldn't even help himself. How was he supposed to help others? But it was nice hearing it from Sin. He wasn't like everyone else. He wanted to help Harry because he was Harry, not the Boy-who-lived. Merlin, he loved that little snake! But-

"_Ssssin, you ssshould leave. There are plenty of people who are better than me. I am not worthy enough to have your friendsssship. If you ssstay, then you will only end up getting hurt." _ Harry hissed out sadly to Sin. Yes, he did love Sin, but Harry never wanted to see anything bad happen to him. Everyone he cared about was dieing, and he didn't want Sin to be added to the list as well.

Sin angrily recoiled and then he struck out and sank his little fangs into Harry's finger on his good hand. His fangs weren't large, but it was so quick and unexpected that Harry jumped slightly. It kinda felt like the one time that he had accidentally stapled his finger when he was back in third grade.

"_Ouch! What wasss that for?! If you hadn't noticed, I am injured enough. I don't need you adding to my woundssss!"_

"_Don't ever ssssay that again! I will not leave you! If I get hurt, then I get hurt. It will not be you fault, but mine! You are my massster, my friend, you are my Harry and I will not leave!" _ Sin angrily hissed out after having removed his fangs from Harry's finger.

Harry felt tears well up in his eyes and he blinked rapidly trying to hold them back.

"_Ssssin…thank you." _Harry whispered out.

'_Don't ever sssomething sssstupid like that again. Promissse?"_

"_Yeah I prom-_ AHH!!" Harry was cut off half way through his sentence as the potion unexpectedly wore off and all of the pain returned full blast. All of that moving around made his injuries feel as though they were on fire. Breathing became hard, even more so when coughs wracked his body trying to expel the sudden build up of blood. Harry turned his head sideways on the floor as he coughed up the red fluid. The extra coughing made his ribs hurt more and his shoulder twist painfully. He bit his lip and tried to stop moving so he wouldn't hurt himself even more.

His leg throbbed painfully and it took all of his will power to not scream out.

"_Harry!?! Whatsss wrong?"_

"_Po-potion w-wore off. Pain…sssso much. Hurts!!!" _This time, Harry didn't even try to hold the tears back. He just let them flow. So he lied there on his back, on the hard wood floor with the shards of the broken lamp digging into his flesh, but he didn't really notice that, and he prayed that the Order would hurry.

Sin curled himself up around Harry's uninjured shoulder and rested his head on his master's throat.

"_Oh Harry… Ssssleep. It will help."_

And so that is what Harry did. He fluttered his eyes closed and was lulled to sleep by Sin's comforting hisses in his ear. At least asleep, he felt nothing.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Remus sat at the dining room table by himself, sipping his morning coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. There was no news on Voldemort yet. He had been unusually quiet these past few weeks and it set everyone on edge.

Headquarters was surprisingly empty today, as everyone had their own jobs or errands to do. The only people there were Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, and Mundungs, who was passed out upstairs in one of the spare rooms. Snape was in the basement, brewing some potions no doubt, and here was Remus trying to enjoy his morning. And he was doing a fine job, well, that is until Hedwig began to furiously peck at the window to be let in.

Remus was surprised to see the snowy owl there, as he knew Dumbledore did not want Harry sending or receiving any mail. He opened the window and Hedwig swooped in and landed on the table, sticking her leg with the message out for Remus to take.

Remus untied the letter and quickly read the short note. His face paled and his eyes widened.

"SEVERUS!!! QUICKLY, GET IN HERE!!!" Remus hollered out. There was a small crash downstairs and the sound of feet marching up the basement stairs was all Remus heard until the door was thrown open, and Snape stood there, scowling angrily.

"What is the bi-"

"No time! Harry is hurt and I need your help! Please?!" Remus all but begged Snape.

Snape scowled even more and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you talking about? That brat is probably just trying to get someone to come over so he is not bored and the attention is focused on him again. Nothing is wrong."

"NO! You're wrong! Harry is hurt! He wouldn't lie about something like this! He is not his father! You have no idea what kind muggles he is staying with! Severus please! Help me! Help him!"

"Surely, the great Harry Potter could fight off a fe-"

"No he can't! He is not allowed to use magic and you know that! Plus, I know for a fact that they lock his wand up! Please, I am begging you!"

Snape gave a great big sigh and gave in.

"Fine. Let's go."

Remus could have hugged him right there had he not been so consumed with worry. They quickly grabbed their cloaks and stepped out side of the house before disappearing with a 'pop'.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Remus and Snape appeared in front of Number 4 Privet Drive. Quickly approaching the door, Snape rapped smartly on the door a waited. There was the sound of someone shuffling around inside before the door was pulled open.

The skinny frame of Petunia Dursley stood in the doorway and she gasp in horror when she realized who was standing on her porch.

"Is Harry Potter here?" Remus asked her.

Her eyes grew wide and her face paled. Her hands shook as she wrung the nervously.

"N-no! He is not h-here! He-he is out…somewhere!" She managed to stutter out before she tried to slam the door in their faces. Remus snarled, his wolf dangerously close the surface, and flung his arm out, catching the door and forcefully throwing it open. It impacted with a very large 'thud' and Petunia, horrified, stumbled backwards, away from the menacing pair.

"Where is he?!?!" Remus growled out, baring his canines for good measure.

"Petunia! What is going on? Who is at the do- WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!?!"

"Where is Harry!?!" Remus snarled out again. Vernon's face turned a nasty shade of purple and his anger was palpable, but even though his rage was obvious, fear was very close to the surface.

"HE IS NOT HERE!!! NOW LEAVE OR I WILL CALL THE POLI-"

"Mr. Dursley," Snape began, while drawing his wand from his robes, "we know that Mr. Potter is here and if you do not move this instant than I will move you myself." He gave his wand a good wave for measure and was pleased with how the man tensed and took a step back. He seemed to realize what he was doing and snapped out of it. His face, if possible, turned an even darker shade of purple, and he swung out a fist in an attempt to knock Snape backwards.

Snape merely gave a flick of his wand and Vernon was sent flying backwards, crashing into the coffee table and smashing it in the process.

"Vernon!" Petunia screamed and dashed over to her husband. Snape and Remus paid them little mind as they quickly ascended the stairs and began looking for Harry. Snape opened the first door at the top of the stairs.

The room was filled to the brim with electronic gadgets and toys of every kind. It was a child's dream room.

'This must be Potter's room but where is he? I knew this was just a hoax.' He thought angrily. Because of Potter, he just ruined a perfectly good potion that he was working on. He turned to go collect Remus and return to Headquarters when…

"Severus! He is in here! And I smell blood! Oh Merlin! He is hurt!" Remus's panicked shout reached Severus's ears and he left the room and saw Remus at the end of the hallway, in front of a door that had many locks on it and a small cat flap at the bottom of the door to slide food under.

'No. Surely this is not the spoiled Potter's room. It couldn't be!'

Snape waved his wand and all of the locks opened with a click. Remus threw the door open but quickly took a step back, his hand flying to cover his nose. His eyes were riveted ahead on the picture that lay before him.

Seeing as how Remus wasn't going to move, Snape moved him out of the way and stepped in the room only to freeze in shock.

'No…This is-sn't right. This is not right……This is not where Harry bloody Potter lived…It just couldn't be...' Yet it was.

Snape's eyes trailed over the dirty yellowed walls that were stained a dark crimson in some parts. There was a bloody hand print or two scattered every few feet and some were smeared downwards from someone pressing there hand against the wall and then falling to the floor. A single light bulb hung in the center of the room and a small bed was crammed in the corner, covered only by a few thread bare blankets. A ratty old desk was against the wall in front of him and a wardrobe was to his right. There was not a single sentimental possession displayed in the room. It was bare. Empty. Well except for the bloody and beaten form of one Harry Potter crumpled up on the floor by the foot of his bed near the wardrobe. And, he wasn't moving.

"Oh Merlin… HARRY!!!" Remus, snapping out of his stupor, screamed before rushing in a dropping down next to his prone form, not even caring that he was kneeling in a small pool of blood.

Snape still stood in the doorway. His widened eyes could not believe what he was seeing. He thought Potter would be a spoiled rotten child who got everything he wanted and everyone dotted upon him. House elves would wait on him hand and foot while he merely lay around all summer until school started. That was the Harry Potter he knew. Well, at least that's what he thought. This, this was something entirely else. He didn't know what to make of this Harry. It changed everything.

"Severus! Help me! We need to get him to Headquarters and fast!" Remus's terrified voice roused him from his thinking and he quickly strode over and knelt down on Harry's other side. He reached a hand out to place on Harry's shoulder for side-along apperation when a hiss was all he heard before a small snake struck out and bit into his hand.

Snape jerked his hand back fast and watched as the small serpent uncoiled himself from around Harry's throat and protectively spread himself out as long as it could go, and then proceeded to hiss threatenly at them. At any other time, this would have amused him greatly, but right now, it annoyed him. Suppressing the urge to throw it to the other side of the room, Snape tried talking to it.

"Look... We aren't going to harm Harry. We are here to help." Snape ground out. He watched as the serpent eyed him with piercing amber eyes for a couple of seconds before giving a very human nod and curling up back around Harry's throat.

Without further delay, Snape grasped Harry's shoulder and they disapperated with a loud 'crack,' Remus following almost immediately afterwards.

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**ShadowRain313:** Well, there is chapter two. I hope you liked it. Please review and give your opinion or if you have any comments/questions. Thank you!


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